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Monday, May 29, 2017

Nine Years from Creation to Publication - Kara Isaac

As I write this I'm four weeks away from the release of my third book, Then There Was You. While it will be my third published book but it is also the first romantic comedy manuscript I ever started, way back in 2008!

Since it's been nine years from beginning to creation to publication I thought it would be fun to give you some idea of how the timeline has been :)

2008
After being told that chick-lit (the genre of my first manuscript) was dead, I was advised that if I ever wanted to be published I needed to find a new genre to write. Decided to try romcom because I love the movies!

Having no idea how to write a romance I attempted a couple of chapters and entered them in a couple of RWA (Romance Writers' of America) contests to get some feedback. Much to my shock the entry finaled in both contests and ended up coming second in the inspirational category in one and winning the other (I still have the $25 check that came with winning!). However, a couple of judges also provided feedback that even though they loved the story, no US publisher would be interested in a book set in Australia and if I was serious about getting it published I would need to set it in the US.

2009
Kept writing the story and entered it in more contests. More finals! But yet more judges (again) saying that I needed to change the setting to the US. After much contemplation, I reached the decision that the Australian setting was pivotal to the story and so, at 50,000 words I set it aside to work on other ideas and hoped that maybe one day the time would come when it made sense to finish it.

2013
Four years later, my literary agent sends me an email saying that an editor at a CBA publishing house has asked if I have any manuscripts set in New Zealand or Australia. I almost fall out of my chair with surprise! Pulling the manuscript out of hibernation I spent three months rewriting the first 50,000 words and finishing the story.

Early 2014
Editors love the story! It goes to a number of publishing boards but ultimately no contract. The most heartbreaking one being when it got a "yes" all the way through (as part of a three-book deal) and then while the publishing house was finalising the contract the decision was made to review their entire fiction line and the contract was pulled.

After being rejected by every publishing house it is pitched to, I return it to hibernation and focus on other projects.

Late 2014
I get the news that Howard Books will be offering me a two-book contract for the stories that ultimately become Close To You and Can't Help Falling. I spent the next two years focused on them.

Late 2016
The news comes from my agent that with Close To You and Can't Help Falling releasing so close together (six months apart) my publisher won't be making a decision on offering me another contract until they have at least a year's worth of sales figures. With the lead in required for traditional publication that means I won't have a book coming out with them in 2017 and potentially not 2018 either. After much pondering (I was eight months pregnant!), a few people telling me I'd be crazy not to, and some nudges from God, I decide to make a leap of faith and publish Then There Was You independently.

Early 2017
The whirlwind adventure of being an indie author hits (which needs its own blogpost or six!). Finding myself the project manager of everything to do with producing a book I pull together my team of editors, cover designer, proof reader, formatter and give myself crash courses on everything from how to get an ISBN, to distribution options, to who to use to print paperbacks to make them cost effective to sell in New Zealand!

May 2017
Preorders for the eBook go up on Amazon and promotional efforts begin with the cover reveal. Advance copies are sent out to 35 early readers and I hide behind my fingers waiting for the first reviews to start coming (Phew! They like it!). The early readers also help pick up remaining typos and errors for correction before the final versions are locked down. The paperback is formatted allowing my designer to complete the cover design for the paperback.

June now holds checking the proof copy of the paperback to ensure all is as it should be before it is approved for production, uploading the final eBook version to Amazon and a changing focus to marketing and promotion to get the word out!

For those of you who are romance readers, here's a taste of Josh and Paige's story :)

Paige McAllister needs to do something drastic. Her boyfriend can’t even commit to living in the same country, her promised promotion is dead on arrival and the simultaneous loss of her brother and her dream of being a concert violinist has kept her playing life safe and predictable for six years. Things need to change. A moment of temporary insanity finds her leaving her life in Chicago to move to Sydney, Australia. There she finds herself, against many of her convictions, as a logistics planner for one of Australia’s biggest churches, and on a collision course with her boss’s son.

Josh Tyler fronts a top-selling worship band and is in demand all over the world. But, in the past, his failed romantic relationships almost destroyed both his reputation and his family. He's determined to never risk it happening again. The last thing he needs is some American girl tipping his ordered life upside down. Especially one who despises everything he’s ever worked for and manages to push every button he has.

When Josh and Paige are thrown together to organize his band’s next tour, the sparks fly. But can they find a way to bridge the differences that pull them apart? Or will they choose the safety and security of what they know over taking a chance on something that will require them to risk everything?

GIVEAWAY
I have two advance Kindle eBook copies to give away to two commenters. Make sure you include an email address so I can contact you if you're a winner! Entries open internationally and close 5pm, Friday, 1 June (CST).

31 comments:

You're new books sounds really good and I'm looking forward to reading it!I'm so glad you stuck with the Australian location. I think diversity in book location is somewhat lacking... not every story needs to be set it the US!

Although the indie publishing journey was hard, I hope you liked it and will consider publishing other book ideas independently if they are not picked up by publishers :DBTW I love, love, love the cover!

Thanks so much, Samantha! I love the cover too :) Indie publishing has definitely been a new adventure and challenge but now that I've done one and nothing has gone horribly wrong (yet!) I feel like doing more titles this way will be much easier!

I'm so excited to see you doing this! I'm in the process of doing the same thing with a story that never quite fit with publishers--including the overseas setting. So I understand exactly how much work this is. Excited for this opportunity for you! Love the cover!

I had seen your first book several places at different times before I decided to read it, and I'm so glad I did! I love the locations and the themes, and I'm just as excited to read your 3rd(1st) book. I'm glad you never gave up and kept writing. I went to Australia once 14 years ago and the people and the beauty of the country have never left my heart. Thank you for the encouragement you give through your books. It's a blessing. And God can do amazing things. Love from Texas, Tiffany (minniekim26@hotmail.com)

I'm so happy for you for accomplishing this!! And yay for this giveaway being international!!I had a blast traveling through your first book in a country I have been able to visit and was completely blown away by its beauty a few years back.And I'm excited your new book will be in another place that is so dear to my heart <3Thank you for writing in such exquisite settings!!

Thanks for sharing your journey to publication for Then There Was You - how exciting to finally see your book baby in print! Really intrigued by the premise of your new book, and so glad to see it set in Australia. More Aussie settings please! Looking forward to another great read :)

Hi Karma, I line reading the process of your writing. Is really fun to see how God works and directs. I look forwards to reading more of your books! Thanks for being willing to use the gift God has given you. Don't ever doubt His working in your life! Blessings! Mfurumasu@Gmail.com

Thank you so much for sharing your journey! I've read Can't Help Falling (more than once..) and enjoyed it so much that I got my sister to read it as well haha. It's awesome to see Kiwis repping NZ out in the literary world! :D It's so rare to find clean, romantic books that glorify God so keep it up and you're doing an awesome job! -Shannon. My email is: starlight059@gmail.com

"I hide behind my fingers waiting for the first reviews to start coming (Phew! They like it!)."....well, as one of the privileged early readers, I can confidently say we don't just like it, we LOOOOOOOVE it. This is a fabulous story, Kara, just fabulous!

Very exciting, Kara. Thank you for sharing the story behind the story.

And good on you for taking the indie plunge. It will be fascinating to read how this experience compares to your trad.pub experience. That may be a book in itself (a small non-fiction one).

I'm waiting for the paperback to release as I have your other 2 in paper so want to be consistent on my bookshelf. Will you be distributing paperback through Koorong and the like or will it be best to buy direct from you?

Wow, what a book journey for "Then There Was You." It's so encouraging to hear this story because we may not understand the timing of things and become despondent as a result of our circumstances. But God always has a plan that's for His glory and our good. We just need to hope and confidently trust in Him, no matter how things look.

I can't wait to read this book. I've read your other novels and I know I'll love this one.

I'm glad you persisted with this book. I read Close to You and Can't Stop Falling and loved them. Although I'm American, I enjoy reading books set in other countries. I'm looking forward to reading Then There Was You.